Consumer Behaviour Assignment: Analysing Survey By Fitbit

Question

Task:
Presume that you are working as a consumer behaviour consultant at the company that makes/produces your chosen product or service from the first assessment. During one of the recent meetings, the company has asked you to analyse a recent survey sample that was completed by consumers who recently purchased their product or service.

Based on the survey, you are required to prepare consumer behaviour assignment including:

• a one-page summary of survey sample results (i.e., a shorter yet concise version of the survey sample results presented in writing).
• a two-page analysis of the sample survey’s key findings (i.e., what does gathered data from this sample survey mean? How does this survey inquire into consumers’ perception, attitudes, motivation, cultural and individual factors? Which consumer behaviour theories and concepts may have been used in each of the questions to inquire into consumers’ perception, attitudes, motivation, cultural and individual factors and why?
• a one-page statement in which you are to outline current consumer behaviour trends that should be considered by the company and justify why these trends are of particular concern from a marketing perspective.

Answer

Introduction
As mentioned in the present context of consumer behaviour assignment, the concept of consumer behaviour essentially refers to the study of how individual customers, groups or organisations make their purchasing decisions to satisfy their needs and wants (Stankevich, 2017). The discussion presented below is an analytical outcome of the survey conducted by Fitbit about their Versa 3 smart watch. The discussion would begin with a brief summary of the sample results, followed by presenting the key findings and present consumer trends.

Summary of Survey Sample Results
The sample survey results indicate that the customers mostly rely on their personal beliefs and opinions before purchasing an item because it enables them to make a sound choice. Additionally, it is also associated with their personal motivation because if they are aware that buying a particular item would be satisfactory for them and would make them happy, then they are likely to purchase it. This particular behaviour can be well-defined with the help of ‘Theory of Reasoned Action’. According to Karnowski et al. (2018), theory of reasoned action highlights the existence of specific intention to create or receive a particular outcome. Thus, the respondents purchased Fitbit Versa 3 smart watch because it made them happy and the company’s views aligned with their personal beliefs leading to the purchase along with the use of the product making their daily activities easier. It was also found that the survey respondents were likely to stop using the product if they found out that the company was involved in any form of illegal activities.

The consumer behaviour highly depended on the brand image of the seller instead of their product quality and quantity. At the same time, it cannot be denied that there are certain factors influencing consumer behaviour and the recommendations from the social circle of the consumers play an important role (Akmanand Mishra, 2017). It was visible in the survey that majority of the participants were influenced by the recommendations of their friends and family members before purchasing Fitbit Versa 3 watch. This particular practice is found commonly among numerous consumers where they are the primal influencers recommending the best of brands to others. Furthermore, being brand conscious or the willingness to be considered as a part of a specific social group is also an important influencing factor (Shardaand Bhat, 2018). Additionally, it is also the cultural elements that has an integral role to play in influencing the purchasing decisions of the individuals. The male population was significantly higher than the female because of their likeliness towards being health conscious.

Sample Survey’s Key Findings
The gathered data from the survey implies that there are different factors influencing the consumer behaviour towards a specific product before finalising their purchase decision. The gathered data would be beneficial for the marketing and R&D team of Fitbit Versa 3 because while promoting the product in future, it would be easier for them to target specific aspects that would trigger the intention of the consumers into buying the product. Mostly, the survey depicted the extreme consciousness increasing among people involving the brand’s image and the part of reference groups they belong to depending on their personal choices. Thus, it can be effectively said that the social circle of the consumers has an important role to play in securing their positive response towards a specific product.

The survey inquiries into consumer’s perception and attitude by diving into the details of their income and occupation because if they have a satisfactory income, then they would not mind purchasing expensive items. The questions associated with the influencing factors and the reason behind the purchase of the item has was included to understand the key motives. Their informed decision-making was influenced by the recommendations from their social circle and their ability to conduct a comparison between the different products in existence. It can be said that steadily that brand image is taking over the perception of the consumers while making viable purchasing decisions. The motivation behind purchasing expensive items are mostly associated with self-satisfaction and the willingness to gel well with a social group to boost one’s image. Thus, the choice of Fitbit Versa 3 and its rage among different people was visible among the survey respondents.

Firstly, the use of ‘Theory of Reasoned Action’ was initiated to understand the expectations of the consumers from the use of Fitbit Versa 3. Secondly, the use of Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs was utilised to understand the actual need or want associated with the purchase of this product. Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs suggests that humans have five essential needs that are to be fulfilled and they comprise of physiological, self-esteem, love and belonging, safety and self-actualisation (Hopper, 2020). Furthermore, the influence of the social circle and the questions attached to it enable in considering the ‘Social Action Theory’ as well. The use of social action theory focuses on the interactions between people in shaping the identity and the needs of individual (Barnes et al., 2019). For instance, the likeliness of the consumers towards Fitbit Versa 3 might have increased because of the consistent recommendations from their friends and close acquaintances.

The utilisation of different theories aligns with the outcomes generated from respondents because the social circle has been an important factor in changing the motivation of the consumers while trying to purchase specific items. Thus, it can be said that the use of different theories makes it easier for the marketers to formulate their next plan to maintain the attractiveness of the customers.

Current Customer Behaviour Trends
Some of the key customer behaviour trends that must be considered are as follows:

• Consumers are becoming more value conscious because their personal disposable income is increasing and they are not hesitant towards purchasing expensive items (Balabanis and Siamagka, 2017). The marketers would have to guarantee the quality consistency of the product.
• Social media marketing keeps the consumers engaged with high value and consistent content, establishing brand reputation and personality (Shareef et al., 2019). The marketers would find it easier to reach out to masses using social media marketing.

Conclusion
This report led to the effective analysis of the sample survey and in understanding that consumer behaviour is highly influenced by social circle and brand image.

Reference List
Akman, I. and Mishra, A., 2017. Factors influencing consumer intention in social commerce adoption. Information Technology & People.

Balabanis, G. and Siamagka, N.T., 2017. Inconsistencies in the behavioural effects of consumer ethnocentrism: The role of brand, product category and country of origin. International Marketing Review.

Barnes, C.M., Ekárt, A. and Lewis, P.R., 2019, June. Social action in socially situated agents. In 2019 IEEE 13th International Conference on Self-Adaptive and Self-Organizing Systems (SASO) (pp. 97-106). IEEE.

Hopper, E., 2020. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Explained. ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 24.

Karnowski, V., Leonhard, L. and Kümpel, A.S., 2018. Why users share the news: A theory of reasoned action-based study on the antecedents of news-sharing behavior. Communication Research Reports, 35(2), pp.91-100.

Sharda, N. and Bhat, A.K., 2018. Austerity to materialism and brand consciousness: luxury consumption in India. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal.

Shareef, M.A., Mukerji, B., Dwivedi, Y.K., Rana, N.P. and Islam, R., 2019. Social media marketing: Comparative effect of advertisement sources. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 46, pp.58-69.

Stankevich, A., 2017. Explaining the consumer decision-making process: Critical literature review. Journal of International Business Research and Marketing, 2(6).